Acting From the Heart
by Diamondinsanity
Summary: Post season 5. Dawn accidently tells her school counselor that she's not living with her sister, but her brother and his wife. 1) She's not. 2) She tells her it's Spike and Willow. Now she has to get them to go to parent teacher night. 'Married'.
1. Ordinary Day?

**Disclaimers: Alas, I still own nothing. Sigh. BtVS does not and probably will never belong to me. Sigh.  
  
Author: Karmawiccan  
  
Pairing: Willow/Spike. Little Willow/Tara.  
  
Distribution: Want. Take. Have. Just tell me first.  
  
Feedback: Definitely would love some of that.  
  
Notes: Takes place after season five. They never brought Buffy back from the dead. Willow and Tara still moved in with Dawn. Giles left for England. Xander and Anya are happily engaged.**

* * *

Willow sat at the table in the middle of the Summers' kitchen staring into her coffee cup. Things had been different since Buffy died. Especially with Tara. The redhead's relationship with the fellow witch had been strained since Tara's bout of insanity. She sighed. Deep down in side, Willow knew that it was just a matter of time before Tara would leave her. But as much as Willow thought she loved Tara, the thought of Tara leaving her didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. And that scared her. The thought made Willow wish for a distraction.  
  
It was then that a smoking blanket ran into the kitchen, slamming the back door behind him. Willow smiled and shook her head. Spike could distract any one. The vampire roughly yanked the blanket off and threw it over a chair before sitting down at the table across from Willow.  
  
"Red." He greeted.  
  
"Hey, Spike." She said smiling. "You're sober today."  
  
"Watch it, Red. I'm not always drunk." Spike insisted.  
  
Willow raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Fine. Lately." He muttered avoiding eye contact.  
  
Willow began to smile, but it quickly turned into a half-frown. "Spike, not that it's not good to see you, cause it's really good to see you. Especially since you're not drunk or on a demon killing spree. But what are you doing here? I mean, you're allowed her, but it's all sunny and you came in all flamey and normally-"  
  
Spike held up a hand to stop Willow's babbling. "For the same bloody reason I always come here during the day. Lil Bit asked me to come over to help her with a project."  
  
Immediately, Willow started laughing. "You're the 'history expert' that she said was going to help her with her paper on the Boxer Rebellion?"  
  
"Hey, now. None of that." Spike said defensively. "Unlike those books, I was actually there."  
  
"Killing a slayer." Willow pointed out.  
  
"I was still there." Spike insisted.  
  
"And how much of the rebellion did you instigate?" The bemused redhead asked.  
  
"Dru did most of the instigating. I just helped."  
  
"Right. And now you're here to help Dawnie with her paper?"  
  
Spike nodded.  
  
"Like you helped her with her World War 2 paper?" She asked as she crossed her arms.  
  
"Hey, all that was true!" The vampire claimed.  
  
"The Nazis were capturing demons to brainwash them and create their own army?" Willow asked disbelievingly.  
  
Spike nodded furiously. "Ask Peaches bout it. They caught him too, I think. Now, I'm not bleeding sure why he was there, but he was."  
  
"Angel was there?" Willow asked curiously before shaking her head. "Spike, Dawn told her classmates nearly everything you told her! She told them that the Nazis wanted vampires to help with world domination!"  
  
He shrugged. "Well, they did. And the Bit still got an 'A.'"  
  
"Only because her history teacher thought she was using a creative technique to make history more interesting to the rest of the class." Willow insisted.  
  
"It's kinda ironic that her history became a vampire not too long after that though. In'nit?"  
  
"Spike." Willow said laughing. "Now, I forget why I was mad at you."  
  
"I think that was his point." Tara said as she walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Hey, baby." Willow said as she started to get up."  
  
Tara shook her head. "Don't. I was just going to the campus. I'll be b-back later." She said softly yet somewhat forcefully before leaving the witch and the vampire alone yet again.  
  
Willow closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall.  
  
"Are you okay, pet?" Spike asked breaking the silence.  
  
She sniffled and opened her eyes roughly wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "Yeah, Spike. Just dandy."  
  
"I thought you and Glinda were getting along." Spike asked concerned for the redhead. She had helped him when Drusilla dumped him. He felt that it was his duty even though he had helped her when Oz broke up with her.  
  
Willow shook her head. "No. Not since Glory." She responded honestly.  
  
Spike was about to say something when he recognized a familiar scent. "Nibblit, are you just gonna stand in the hall all day or are you going to come in?"  
  
Willow suddenly brushed at where her tears had been and sat up straight, trying to make it look like she hadn't been crying.  
  
Slowly, the teenager walked into the kitchen, a nervous look on her face. "Um, hi Spike. Hi Willow."  
  
"Dawn, what did you do?" Spike asked noting the look on her face.  
  
Immediately Dawn looked away.  
  
"Dawnie?" Willow asked.  
  
"Okay." Dawn said looking at the pair. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to get mad."  
  
"Dawn." Willow and Spike said in unison.  
  
"Okay, I had a meeting with my counselor and my Algebra teacher today." At their nods she continued. "Well, they want to have a parent/teacher conference. And I started thinking, Buffybot and conference? That's not going to work."  
  
"What did you tell them?" Willow asked.  
  
"That's the thing. I told them the first thing that popped into my head."  
  
"And what was that?" Spike asked not liking where this conversation seemed to be headed.  
  
"That I was no longer living with my sister, but my brother and his wife." The teen said.  
  
Willow sighed. "Good, so you told them Xander and Anya, right?"  
  
Dawn shook her head. "Not exactly."  
  
"Dawn." Spike said in a warning voice. "Who did you tell them was coming to the meeting?"  
  
"My brother, Spike, and his wife, Willow."

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**Hee hee. TBC. Please read, review and tell me what you think.  
  
Karma**


	2. Reaction Time

"You told them what?!" Spike and Willow shouted in unison.  
  
"Well, actually, I told them that I was living with my brother William and his wife Willow because Mrs. Garret would have totally flipped if I told her that my brother's name was Spike, I mean come on..." Dawn trailed off when she realized that both Spike and Willow were staring at her. Actually, Spike's was more of a glare and Dawn found herself avoiding his steely gaze.  
  
"Dawnie," Willow began slowly. "You told them that Spike and I were married." The redhead took a deep breath in a vain attempt to control the mixture of anger, shock and surprise that was threatening to erupt. She didn't want to be angry with Dawn, but she didn't know any other way to respond to the huge bombshell that had been dropped on her.  
  
"Nibblet, Did you for get one little thing?" Spike asked gently. "I'm a sodding vampire!" He yelled.  
  
"Spike." Don't yell at her." Willow chided him, replacing her anger from Dawn to Spike.  
  
He stared at Willow. "You got to be kidding me, Red. You aren't seriously agreeing to this."  
  
"I never said that, Spike. I told you not to yell at her." Willow said logically.  
  
"It's the same sodding thing!" Spike could believe that Willow was actually defending Dawn.  
  
"No, Spike, it's not. You can be angry with Dawn, just don't yell at her." Willow insisted. She couldn't believe how stubborn Spike was being at the moment.  
  
"Bloody hell!" He yelled in frustration.  
  
Willow made sure her resolve face was firmly in place before responding. "Or swear at or around her."  
  
"Luv, I'm-" Spike began.  
  
"You better not evil, Mister, because you're not." Willow said firmly as she put her hands on her hips.  
  
"Willow. Red. Pet. Reputation, remember?" Spike pleaded not wanting to hear, yet again, how he wasn't evil.  
  
"I'm sorry, but it's true." Willow said with a sigh.  
  
Dawn stared at Willow and Spike wordlessly. _'Do they not see it? Do they not know that they do that?' _"Oh my God. You guys, would you stop it?" Dawn finally said interrupting their argument.  
  
"Bloody hell." Spike complained.  
  
"Spike." Willow began.  
  
"Stop it. Please!" Dawn said throwing her hands up in the air. "You don't see it, do you?"  
  
"See what?" Willow asked confused as she looked around the room.  
  
"You two." Dawn said waving her arms around again.  
  
"What about us?" Willow asked as she looked over at Spike only to see that he was staring at her.  
  
"You sound like an old married couple!" Dawn exclaimed with an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Do not, Nibblet." Spike protested as he tore his eyes off of Willow and looked at Dawn again.  
  
"Yes, you do. You guys could so pull this off!" Dawn said excitedly.  
  
"Um, Dawnie, I don't mean to rain on your parade or anything, but even if we did agree to this and I'm not saying I am or anything, but how would we get Spike inside with out him turning all flamey?" Willow asked.  
  
"It's Back-to-School Night." Dawn said with a smile.  
  
"Oh, Bloody Hell, Bit. Back-to School Night?" Spike said with a groan. "There is no bleeding way I'm going to another Back-to-School Night."  
  
"Another?" Dawn asked confused.  
  
Willow began to giggle. "Because at the last one you ended up being hit in the head with an ax?"  
  
Spike groaned before an evil smile lit up his features. "Weren't you locked in a closet with the cheerleader?"  
  
This time it was Willow's turn to groan. "Don't remind me."  
  
Dawn stared at them. "Okay, do I even want to know?"  
  
"No." Willow and Spike said in unison.  
  
"Fine." Dawn said as she slowly began to back out of the room. "It's Thursday at seven."  
  
"Wait a minute, Bit. We never agreed to this." Spike said, stopping Dawn in her tracks.  
  
"I was hope you'd forget that part." Dawn said sheepishly.  
  
Just as Spike was about to say something else a thought came to Willow. "Hey, Dawnie, what exactly did you tell them? I mean, they had to know that Spike really wasn't your brother. "  
  
Dawn smiled a big smile. "It was actually one of my better lies. Well, right after graduation, Buffy went back to LA where she had lived when she ran away. She came back right before classes started with Sp-er-William, her husband. It threw the whole family into chaos. And then after they had been married for about a year, Will met her best friend, Willow, and fell in love. Buffy knew about her husband's feelings for Willow and in a passion boinked her ex-boyfriend, Angel who also happened to be William's older brother. They were divorced, and then mom died. But on her will she left me to Buffy and William. And when Buffy died, I moved in with Willow and William who had been married a month before Buffy died."  
  
Willow and Spike stared at Dawn. "You told them... that?" Willow finally asked.  
  
"Yup." Dawn said proud of herself.  
  
"And they believed it?" Willow asked still shocked about Dawn's story. _'I'm the other woman! Well, not me, because I'm not the other woman, but the other Willow that the school expects to see on Thursday was the other woman.'_

"Yup." Dawn said with a smile. "They believed every word."  
  
You've been watching too much _Passions_, Nibblet." Spike said with a chuckle.  
  
"Actually, I prefer _All My Children_. Our lives are too much like Passions anyways." Dawn said sagely before realizing that Spike wasn't angry any more. "Wait, are you saying that you'll do it?"  
  
Spike sighed and looked over at Willow. "What do you think, luv?"  
  
Willow sighed, looked at Spike and then looked back into Dawn's pleading eyes. "We'll do it. We'll pretend to be married."

* * *

**TBC**  
  
Oh, and thank you thank you thank you for all the lovely reviews. They made me feel all loved inside!  
Karma


	3. Pop Quiz

**Disclaimers: I own nothing except Catherine Lassaday. She belongs to me. And that sounded a lot stranger than I meant for it to...  
  
Karma: Thanks for reviewing! It made me feel all loved. I think I kinda confused people because they thought the last chappie was the end, I never planned for it to be the end... I do plan to show the meeting and all that jazz. And yes it will get darker once Tara gets involved. Please keep reading, reviewing and telling me whatcha think.**

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Dawn Summers sat at the top of the stairs, an amused smile was spread across her face. She was happier than she had been these past four months combined and it all had to do with two of the three people currently in the living room. Spike and Willow. Anya was currently in the room with them and she was being, well, Anya like. But Anya was the only one Willow and Spike could think of who wouldn't freak out about the plan. She was also the only person they knew of who had seen thousands upon thousands of marriages. It didn't matter that she had helped end most of these marriages. In fact, that was one of the main reasons as to why Willow called Anya in the first place. She could tell them how not to act. This made the entire "lesson" entirely entertaining for Dawn to watch.  
  
"Okay, and no pet names at the meeting." Anya instructed the couple on the couch.  
  
"Why?" A curious Willow asked.  
  
"Because it is a sign of weakness." Anya said matter of factly.  
  
Spike cocked an eyebrow. "How is it a sign of weakness?" He asked disbelievingly.  
  
Anya glared at him. "Well, not only that but it's just tacky. And you said you wanted my help." She pointed out. "Either you listen or I leave."  
  
"Spike, behave." Willow hissed as she absently laid a hand on his knee in an attempt to stop him from opening his mouth and pissing Anya off even further. If Willow knew one thing in life, it was not to piss Anya off when she's trying to help you.  
  
"Now, that sounded like a wife." Anya beamed proudly.  
  
"Really?" A surprised Willow asked.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. Seeing this, Willow slapped his chest lightly which caused Anya to beam even further.  
  
"Just like a wife." Anya said ecstatically.  
  
Before Spike or Willow could say anything, the door bell rang.  
  
"Dawn, honey could you get the door instead of eavesdropping on us?" Willow asked with a smile.  
  
"Actually, I was spying." Dawn corrected as she moved to answer the door.  
  
The teenager lazily opened the door; quite unaware of the can of worms she was about to open. She had no idea of all the trouble this one visit would cause. In front of her stood a middle-aged woman with short brown hair and a broad smile. "Dawn Summers?" She asked after looking down at the clipboard in her hands.  
  
"Yeah?" Dawn hesitantly responded.  
  
"I'm Catherine Lassaday from social services." The woman said with a smile. "I'm looking for William or Willow Giles, are they home?"  
  
Dawn gulped and pasted on a fake smile. "Yeah, they are. I'll go get them. Would you like to come in?"  
  
Catherine smiled. "Of course." She walked into the house and stood impatiently in the hallway. Catherine looked down at her watch. Four-forty. She had twenty minutes to evaluate her newest charge's home life and check into the office before she would go onto over time.  
  
"Um, Willow? Will? Some one from social services is at the door." Dawn said nervously.  
  
Spike and Willow exchanged looks of uneasiness which both held the same question, 'are you ready?'  
  
"Well, I guess we're on, eh, Red?" Spike asked lowly.  
  
Willow nodded and grabbed Spike's hand for support. "Remember, this is for Dawn. Behave. Don't be Spike. Be William. I know he's still in there somewhere."  
  
Spike sighed unnecessarily, and allowed Willow to pull him into the hallway. _'She wants William? I'll give the little witch William.'_ He thought to himself.  
  
"Mr. and Mrs. Giles? I'm Catherine Lassaday from social services." The woman said with a smile.  
  
"William Giles." Spike responded in a crisp, upper class accent.  
  
Catherine smiled and shook Spike's outstretched hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Giles. What part of England are you from?"  
  
"London. And William, please Mr. Giles is my father." Spike responded automatically.  
  
Catherine immediately turned her attention to Willow.  
  
"Hi, um, I'm Willow Giles." Willow said nervously as she shook Catherine's hand. This wasn't the Spike she knew. He was actually listening to her and behaving. Willow couldn't believe it. Spike never listened to any one. She shook her head slightly as she realized that Catherine was talking to her.  
  
The social worker smiled. "There's no need to be nervous Mrs. Giles, uh, Willow. This isn't a test. I'm just here to make sure Dawn is well cared for, happy, and loved."  
  
"I am." Dawn said as she poked her head in from the living room. "Happy and loved that is."  
  
"Nibblet." Spike said warningly.  
  
Catherine smiled. "It's all right, Mr. Giles- William. I like hearing what the children have to say about their living conditions. So, you're happy here, Dawn?"  
  
Dawn nodded. "Happier than I have been in a long time."  
  
Catherine smiled. "That's all I needed to hear."  
  
Just then the back door opened and Tara walked into the house. "Honey? Are you still here? I think I l-left my book here."  
  
Spike and Willow exchanged looks of shock. Tara. What were they going to do?  
  
"Who is that?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Willow's sister, Tara." Dawn lied.  
  
"She said 'honey'." A confused Catherine pointed out.  
  
"Tara's my, um, lover." Anya said as she poked her head into the room.  
  
"And you are?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Anya."  
  
Tara walked into the room and stared at Spike and Willow. _'Why is Spike's hand around my girlfriend's waist? Why is she leaning into him? They aren't really... No. Tara. You're just over reacting. Something has to be going on here. Something is always going on here.' _"Um, hi?" She said.  
  
Willow looked at Anya with a look that clearly said, 'Do something!'  
  
Anya took a deep breath, walked over to Tara and kissed her on the cheek. "Hi, honey."  
  
Tara looked at Anya like she was crazy. "What's going on here?" She asked.  
  
"Oh, this is Catherine Lassaday from social services. She's here to check up on Dawnie." Willow said as she slipped out of Spike's grasp.  
  
Catherine smiled and looked down at her watch. "It's very nice to have met you..."  
  
"Tara." She said.  
  
Catherine nodded. "Well, I'll have to be going. Mr. and Mrs. Giles, it has been a pleasure. Expect me back next week for another check up. I'll let myself out." She said before leaving.  
  
For years, Tara had remained calm, cool, and collected. She had never really let emotion out. Now, she glared across the room, her eyes dark with anger. "What is going on here!"

* * *

**TBC  
  
Hee hee. I like using cliff hangers for this story, don't ask me why... RR and tell me whatcha think!  
Karma**


	4. Golden Truths and Ringing Excuses

Disclaimers: I own nothing. Joss Whedon owns everything even slightly related to the Buffy world.

Pairing: Willow/Spike. Little Willow/Tara.

Distribution: Want. Take. Have. Just tell me first.

Feedback: Definitely would love some of that.

Spoilers and all that jazz: Takes place after season five. They never brought Buffy back from the dead. Willow and Tara still moved in with Dawn. Giles left for England. Xander and Anya are happily engaged.

Notes: w00t! I'm back. And I have two more chapters written up for it already. The faster you review, the more likely I am to post them at the end of the week, so please read and review.

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"What is going on here!" Tara shouted into the shocked silence. The way she said it, it wasn't even a question. It was a demand.

"Tara, baby, I can explain." Willow said as she slowly approached her girlfriend.

"Explain?" Tara angrily asked. "Oh, I would love to hear this. Please explain." Tara darkly said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Meanwhile, Anya nervously looked between the two witches. She had seen this before- in the woman that she helped when she was a vengeance demon. She could practically feel the pain and anger coming off of Tara in waves. _'She's seeing something that's not there. Or is it?'_ Anya asked herself. She shook her head. _'No, that's not important. Finding and stopping Hallie from coming here. That's important.' _With that final thought, she silently slipped out of the house and into the twilight.

When Anya left, Willow was still nervously looking at Tara, completely unsure of how to explain this to her furious girlfriend. She gulped. Never in the two years she had known Tara had she seen her angry, and frankly it scared the hell out of her.

"Calm down?" Tara yelled as she let the anger take full control of her body. "What are you doing? Are you fucking him?"

Dawn's eyes widened. Tara was scaring her. Of all the people she knew, Tara was the last person that she would expect to get this angry. She didn't know how to say or act. Dawn had never been this terrified in her entire life. She wasn't even this scared when Harmony kidnapped her.

Akward silence filled the room. Not even loud-mouthed Spike had anything to say. He was as shocked as his two girls were. "Spike, can you take Dawn upstairs and help her with that history project?" Willow finally asked.

Spike nodded. "Sure, thing, Red. C'mon Nibblet." He told Dawn as he herded her up to her room.

Once again the room was filled with silence. _'Okay, Willow. Explain.'_ She silently told herself. _'Calm Tara down. Explain.' _"It's not what it looks like." She finally said.

"You're lying." Tara announced. "Whenever someone says that, they're lying."

Willow shook her head. "No, we're helping Dawnie out." She insisted.

"Right." Tara scoffed. "You think that I haven't seen the way that you and Spike look at eachother? I'm not stupid."

The redhead just stared at her lover. "What are you talking about?" She asked bewildered.

Tara just laughed a bitter laugh. "This thing between you and Spike has always been there. You're just acting on it now." She said.

"Acting. That's what we're do, we're acting." Willow anxiously told her.

"Save it." Tara said not wanting to hear another word Willow had to say. "I'll see you later at the Magic Box." She turned on her heel and left the house.

Willow sighed as a tear rolled down her cheek. She sniffled and wiped it away. She had no idea why Tara was acting like this, but it hurt her nonetheless. She was only trying to help Dawn out. With another sigh, she walked up the stairs and paused at the door of Dawn's room, wanting to see what exactly Dawn and Spike were talking about.

"Wait." Dawn said as she chewed on the cap of her pen. "So Dru told the captain to go in the direction of the other half of his troops?" She asked, as she looked down at the notes that were scattered about her bed.

Spike leaned back in his chair for a moment, and thought before nodding. "Yeah."

"When did she learn Chinese?" A curious Dawn asked.

This caused Spike to laugh. "She didn't. That was the beauty of Dru she could say the craziest things in languages she didn't even know and they would still make sense." He said as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"You miss her." Dawn noticed.

"How you figure that?" Spike asked as he took a drag.

"You only smoke in the house when something bothers you. 'cause of that one time that Willow set you on fire to show you what it felt like to be a cigarette." Dawn pointed out before digging under her bed and pulling out an ashtray. She handed it to him and he sighed.

"Yeah, I miss her." He set as he put out the cigarette. "She's my sire. She'll always be a part of me."

"So, what did she do after that?" Dawn asked wanting to change the subject.

"Well, after we left the captain, Dru ran off after this Chinese girl and I followed the Slay-"

"Spike. She doesn't need to know that." Willow said as she came into the room.

Dawn groaned. "You always come in right as he's getting to the good part." She complained.

"Only because Spike knows that he's not supposed to tell you everything that happened when he was 'evil.'" Willow told her. "Besides he's going to be late for that thing he has."

Spike frowned. "Thing I-" He looked up at the clock, and his eyes went wide. "Oh, the thing that I have." He got up. "We'll talk later, Pidge."

"Wait." Dawn said before going into a drawer. "There's something that I want to give you. Both of you. To you know, help you guys pull this off." She pulled out a small box. "When my mom and dad got divorced, they gave these to me and Buffy to tell us that even though they didn't love each other anymore they still loved us. I want you guys to have them." She handed the box to Willow.

Curious, Willow opened the box. Her gasp was loud enough to draw Spike to her side. His eyes widened that the contents of the box. "Bloody hell, Bit. We can't take these." He said before looking back into the box. Inside were two gold wedding bands.

"Yes, you can." Dawn insisted. "If you don't feel like you're married, you'll never be able to tell the world that you guys are 'married'."

The pseudo-couple sighed in unison and reluctantly put on their respective bands. They had no idea how much more trouble this lie would soon cause.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Magic Box, Tara hurriedly flipped through the pages of a book she had found in the restricted section. "The spell is in here, but where?" She asked herself as she scanned down a page. "Yes." She said smiling as she found the spell. "A memory reversal spell. Now chipped Spike will just be a distant erased memory." Smiling wickedly, she hurried down the ladder, book in hand and began looking for her ingredients. When she had what she needed, she ran into the back room and locked the door. "Tonight will be a night no one will forget."

* * *

**TBC**


	5. Family Meetings

**Disclaimers: I own nothing. Joss Whedon owns everything even slightly related to the Buffy world.**

**Pairing: Willow/Spike. minor Willow/Tara. Minor Angel/Drusilla (I'm a tad obsessed)**

**Distribution: Want. Take. Have. Just tell me first.**

**Feedback: Definitely would love some of that.**

**Spoilers and all that jazz: Totally AU. Takes place after season five. They never brought Buffy back from the dead. Willow and Tara still moved in with Dawn. Giles left for England. Xander and Anya are happily engaged. Oh, and Connor doesn't exist over on Angel, btw. That's kind of important. They never went to Pylea. Angel went off somewhere other than a monastery to deal with his issues after Buffy's death.**

**Notes: Eep. Sorry I haven't updated this story in forever. I don't know what came over me. I know Tara's quite ooc in this story, but I swear I have a reason behind it. So, you'll just have to wait and see what happens. Italics are thoughts as always. Not beta'd. Looking for a Beta though. Especially one who has no issues against Angel/Drusilla.**

* * *

After leaving the Summers' home, Spike headed straight for his crypt, all but groaning as he saw the convertible parked outside the cemetery's gates—he was late. He stopped outside the door and quickly slipped his wedding band off his finger and into his pocket before opening the door and slipping inside.

"Nice of you to finally join us. You're only twenty minutes late, boy. If my girl here hadn't warned me, I would have thought you'd forgotten about us."

Spike froze at the sound of the voice, and turned around to face his couch, studying the two vampires sitting there. Angel raised an eyebrow at Spike before looking down at a sleeping Drusilla. With a sigh Spike slowly approached them.

After Buffy died, Angel had suddenly felt a need to reunite his family. He had tried to approach Darla, but she had gone off with Lindsey. This only left him with Drusilla and Spike. Drusilla had easily returned to Angel, but Spike had only agreed to Angel's little fantasy after he told him his plan. He had found a way to return both Drusilla's sanity and her soul. Thus the beginning of their little Thursday night meetings.

Restoring her to full health was a rather lengthy process, which required a familial blood transfer, and eventually a witch. Spike wasn't sure why Angel had suddenly decided to restore Dru's sanity, but he knew better than to ask questions—if this was Angel's way of dealing with Buffy's death, he could handle it. Frankly, it was a lot more constructive than his own way of dealing with Buffy's death.

"Is she ready?" Spike asked Angel, waving slightly at Drusilla.

Sighing, Angel shook his head. "No, which is why I was hoping you'd be here on time tonight so Dru and I could get back home without bursting into flames." Absently he ran a hand through Drusilla's hair. "The blood transfers aren't going to work any more. We need a witch." He looked up at Spike. "Do you think Willow…"

Replaying his earlier conversations with both Willow and Dawn in his mind, Spike considered Angel's unfinished question. "She's at the Magic Box." Spike finally stated. "If there's any time to ask her, it would be now."

Instantly Angel was on his feet, cradling Drusilla in his arms. "Let's go."

* * *

Willow walked into the Magic Box with Dawn for the mini-Scooby meeting. Since Buffy's death, they'd been meeting once a week to discuss who would be patrolling with who each night, and researching any big bads that came into town. It was bittersweet without Buffy and Giles around, but they still held the meetings none the less—out of habit more than anything else.

As the door chimed, Anya looked up expectantly from the cash register. "Oh. It's just you." She said with a sigh. "Where's your new hubby?" Her eyes twinkled with amusement, but she was still a little cross with herself. She hadn't been able to find Hallie, even though she could since her friend's presence.

Instantly Willow hid her hand behind her back and started to slip the wedding band off, stopping as Dawn began to glare at her. "He, uh, had a thing." Willow stated somewhat nervously. She looked around the shop. "Where are Tara and Xander?"

Anya shrugged. "Xander went up to get Chinese for dinner. And I don't know where Tara is… She wasn't here when I got back from our little lesson."

Before Willow could respond, Spike and Angel hurried into the Magic Box, Drusilla still in Angel's arms. "We need a little help here."

* * *

In the back room, Tara heard Spike enter the main part of the shop. Smiling wickedly to herself, she began the Tabula Rasa spell.

Suddenly a bright flash filled the entire building knocking everyone to the ground, including Tara. As the light receded, Xander entered the shop, a large bag of Chinese food in his arms. He stared about the room in shock, setting the bag of food down onto a table. Everyone was lying on the floor including _Angel and Drusilla? What the hell are they doing here?_ He shook his head as he realized the severity of the situation. Nervously, he kneeled down in front of Anya. "Hun?" He asked, shaking her awake.

Sluggishly Anya opened her eyes. "Who are you?"

* * *

**Ya. I know. Mean cliffhanger. And I do have a point for bringing in Angel and Drusilla, other than my sick obsession.**

**I'm getting ready to leave for a trip, which means I'll be writing more chapters on the plane. I've been having a lot of computer issues lately, but I plan to have this story finished before classes start in August. This is now officially top priority. **

**Please review.**


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